Rep Pauses
June 1, 2009 by Bodybuilding Blog
Filed under Bodybuilding Exercises
It is a matter of choice as to how you do your reps, they can be done continuously or with a pause after each rep. However, the continuous style will restrict the size of the poundage that can be used, but will also shorten the duration of the sets and heighten the aching in the muscles. If however, you use the short pause between reps this will enable greater poundage to be used.
Taken to the extreme for example of taking 30-60 seconds between reps, a single set will almost become a series of single-rep sets. This exaggerated rest-pause training will usually necessitate putting the bar down (or racking it) between the reps. It is true that some exercises are more suited to one style than the other. Calf raises are best suited to the continuous style, but are definitely more effective with a brief pause at the top. By the same token squats and bent legged dead lifts provide an almost overwhelming urge to take a brief pause between reps, certainly towards the end of a set.
In general, continuous reps are not as productive as those reps carried out with a brief pause before each. Continuous reps will result in quicker muscle fatigue and a feeling of strong stimulation, but this may not be as effective in terms of growth stimulation.
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